Mount Lorette (04 Mar 2023) 4 Raptors
Alberta, Canada
| Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 04, 2023 | |||
| Species | Day’s Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| American Kestrel | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gyrfalcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Observation start time: | 07:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:15:00 |
| Total observation time: | 8.75 hours |
| Official Counter | Blake Weis |
| Observers: | Lynn Macintosh |
Visitors:
32 visitors stopped by the site to talk. Two helped to look for raptors.
Weather:
At the start it was a chilly -13C, with light SW winds and a clear sky. The light wind and nearly cloudless conditions remained throughout the morning. Around 1 PM the wind increased (gusting up to 26km/h) and shifted to the north while cloud cover increased. By 3 PM the clouds moved lower, partially obscuring the ridges and snow began to fall. The weather continued to deteriorate, and as a result and the count was concluded at 4:15 PM. The temperature reached a high of -3C, and it was -4C as we were leaving. Ridge winds were light to moderate from the WSW in the morning and early afternoon, and might have gotten stronger as the snow moved in but it was hard to tell. Ridge wind measurements weren’t available from the Nakiska Ridgetop station.
Raptor Observations:
The day’s migration consisted of two adult Bald Eagles and two unaged Golden Eagles. All of them passed between 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM. The first migrant, a Golden Eagle, was soaring low over the distant north ridge of Mt. Lorette, then passed behind Lorette before continuing to the NW along the Fisher Range. Not long after, a Bald Eagle was soaring along the south portion of the Fisher Range. The last Golden and Bald Eagles were seen approaching Mt. Lorette and Hummingbird Plume Hill from almost directly south. They had probably gained height by soaring somewhere to the south before gliding over us along the valley. A local adult Bald Eagle flew south low over the river later in the afternoon.
Non-raptor Observations:
1 Belted Kingfisher (Male) 7 Common Raven 3 Black-capped Chickadee 7 Mountain Chickadee 3 Boreal Chickadee 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 1 White-winged Crossbill 1 Pine Siskin
3 Red Squirrels
Report submitted by ()
Mount Lorette information may be found at: eaglewatch.ca
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo – [Project Details]
